Before 1950, American title tennis was all white—the shoes, the clothes, the balls, and especially the people. Althea Gibson was a born athlete. She didn’t intend to be a race woman, but she knew she was good enough to play the cream of the crop. On August 29, 1950, Gibson became the first person of color to compete for the U.S. National Championship (now known as the U.S. Open) at the elite Forest Hills Tennis Club. She won the first match and was about to close the second when the skies literally opened up and lightning struck. This is the fascinating story of the unlikely “Jackie Robinson of tennis”—a tough, competitive young woman living in Harlem whose gifts drew people of influence to support her rise as a star on the world stage. But this story doesn’t end with her winning the U.S. Nationals…  CRE